I have been asked by several readers to address the following question: How much is enough, in regards to working out? This question is not directed so much as to how long I should be working out each time I do workout, but rather, how strong, fast, flexible, and balanced should one get? In other words, people seem to want to know if they are always supposed to be pushing themselves to lift more, run faster, jump higher and hold the plank longer.
The answer: No, for 99.9 percent of the people out there.
Let me explain. Most of us who are participating in regular exercise are doing it to be healthy, to lose a few pounds, or to help maintain our current weight. We are not vying for a spot on the next Olympic team, hoping to win the Boston Marathon or the Ironman Triathlon. We are just doing our thing a few times a week to look and feel better and stave off icky things like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and other factors. If you are not in this category, then this article does not apply to you; go hire a professional coach and go for it.
For the rest of us, myself (an ex professional athlete) included, this information is for us.
Study after study, has shown that moderate exercise done on a consistent basis yields the best health results. Notice I did not say that it yields the most medals, trophies or world records. Overwhelmingly, exercise scientists find that the greatest health benefits come from people who adopt a healthy lifestyle that includes a balanced diet and regular moderate exercise (such as 30 minutes a day of walking, plus strength training a couple of times a week).
This means that you do not have to keep setting new goals for yourself to lift heavier and run faster. It is perfectly normal to hit, what I call, a natural plateau and stay there for years. Using myself as an example, although I vary the strength training exercises I do in the gym, I am basically lifting the same weight at 49 years of age that I was lifting at 35 years of age. Am I failing? Am I lazy? No, I pushed myself early on in my strength-training days and I reached my natural plateau. Now, I did push, but only to be challenged, not killed or injured. You have to use common sense – get the advice of a qualified trainer and ask them what they think you should be lifting for certain exercises. You just want to be in the normal range for your age; you don’t have to be a champion.
As we age, with increased stress on our bodies, there is an increased chance for injury. You have to balance the challenge you present your body with concerns for safety. You also have to keep personal goals in mind and make sure you have a sensible plan to reach them. If you have a sizable goal of losing a lot of weight, but you are in your mid-50s, you should not adopt a workout strategy developed for college kids, or even people in their 30s. You have to put your ego on the sidelines and be OK with who you are and what you can do.
Sure, I still keep time on every run I do, but the routes I ran to train for competitive races in my 20s, I now run several minutes slower, since my goal for working out is keeping my heart and other vital organs healthy, not competitive. I’m not the strongest one in the gym, and I won’t be and I’m OK with this. You have to be too.
Challenge yourself, but accept the natural plateau your body reaches. It will be a lot easier for you to work out for years and years if each workout doesn’t kill you. Challenge you, yes, but not kill you.